Originally posted 2008-03-19 06:27:31. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
I came across some really great tips today, which I thought I’d share with you:
Since tent stitch slants from lower left to upper right, try to
make stems slant this way, you will end up with a solid line when it is
stitched.
If you need or want to draw very thin lines on your
canvas, look for micro-tip permanent markers (Pigma Microns). You won’?t find them among
the Sharpies at your local office store, but rather at a fabric store where
quilters find them. These markers leave a thin but clear line on the canvas
and work much better than pencils.
Dark and colored canvases are becoming more and more popular these days,
even for painted canvas. But how do you get the colors to look true on the
painted design if the background canvas is dark? Here?’s DeDe’s secret –
put on the outline of the design and then paint the entire design white.
This makes for a light colored surface so the paints will show up against
the dark.
Sometimes when you add beads, the thread shows through. White is annoying then. Solve this problem by either using colored beading thread or using embroidery floss (two strands) to match the beads or the background. Floss isn’t as strong as beading thread but works on beads with finished edges (NOT bugle beads).
I bought a great little doodad that it would be easy to
make yourself (in fact my husband is mad he didn’?t think of it). Get one
of those REALLY big plastic paperclips. Now glue onto it a little magnet.
Clip onto the side of your canvas and you have a needleholder.
If you need a fast, cheap needlegrabber use a balloon.
If you have bits of thread or a thread end that’s too short to get nto the needle and they are showing on the right side of the canvas, use a very tiny crochet hook. Go from back to front and cath the thread end in the hook and carefully back out the hook, the end will come with it.
If you are using two strands of Watercolours for stitching and don’t want to have lots of leftover strands, start with two three-ply strands and take one strand from each. You don’t waste thread this way.
A way to solve the problem of working on dark
canvas from Leigh Designs — put talcum powder on the canvas. It makes the
canvas grey so it shows up better and rinses out when blocking.
You can find over 120 pages of great tips like these in Needlepoint Trade Secrets, available from Rainbow Gallery, Nordic Needle, Unicorn Books, and Amamzon.
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Just wanted to say thanks for such a helpful blog. I spent a long time just browsing today and appreciated all the great info and ideas.
Thanks!
-Julie
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